Picking up where we left off on Stage 2 of the trail. This is when things started to get bumpy. We make it to the section on the map that says Rocky Section. They weren't lying!
You can see us getting beat around on our dashcam video. It was brutal.
Once we made it to the Michigan side we got slightly sidetracked and headed over to Iron River for some lunch. This was far smoother and appreciated after what we just went through.
Back on the Trail
We finished up our lunch and drove back to where we got off the trail. The views in this area with the autumn colors were breathtaking. Around every corner was stunning colors and natural beauty. This is looking out from a bridge we crossed on the trail.
We continued North until coming to a brown sign. These signs often adds hours to our trip. This day would be no different and were we ever surprised.
Sturgeon River Wilderness
The sign we saw said Sturgeon River Falls and had an arrow. That was the last sign we saw for them on this road. LOL. We did find the scenic lookout for the Sturgeon River Gorge.
The Gorge is 350ft deep and nearly a mile across. It sits in the heart of the Ottawa National Forest and is covered by Sugar Maple, Aspen, Hemlock and Birch. This made for the most mind blowing scenes we've ever seen in Michigan. Neither of us had even heard of this place. Check out this view!
The Forest Roads out to this Gorge were rough and not very traveled. We only saw one other truck of people out here and they were local.
It was peak Autumn Color season and for there not to be anyone else out there was surprising. This is added to our list of places to return too. It was like the Grand Canyon of Color!
It's getting late
That side trip cost us many hours and we were losing light. We decided to head East over to a State Park we'd never been too.
Baraga State Park was really nice. It had full modern shower facilities that were very clean and vending machines for snacks. The State Parks up here really surprised us. We were expecting Vault Toilets and no power. These are as nice as the parks downstate and we'll be revisiting more.
This was a pic from our campsite looking out on the bay.
The wind had died down but the temps were dropping. It was getting into the 20's overnight and we were ready. Tonight we had a nice fire to sit by before bed. A short walk to the bay and it told a different story. The waters were very rough but not like the day before.
That's the end of Day 2 and most of Stage 2. Stay tuned for our final day on the trail and more spectacular views.
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